Sick leave insures employees against loss of pay if they are incapacitated and cannot perform their duties because of illness, injury, pregnancy and confinement, or medical (including dental or optical) examination or treatment.
A limited amount of sick leave may also be used to provide for the medical needs of a family member. Nonbargaining unit employees, and bargaining unit employees if provided in their national agreements, are allowed to take a maximum of 80 hours of their accrued sick leave per leave year to give care or otherwise attend to a family member (as defined in 515.2(a), 515.2(b), and 515.2(c)) with an illness, injury, or other condition that, if an employee had such a condition, would justify using sick leave. If leave for dependent care is approved, but the employee has already used the maximum 80 hours of sick leave allowable, the difference is charged to annual leave or to LWOP at the employee’s option. (See 515 for information about FMLA entitlement to be absent from work.)
Time accrued is as follows:
Note: Non-executive, nonbargaining career employees, and noncareer employees converted to those positions, with a career appointment or conversion date on or after October 6, 2012, who have no prior federal or Postal Service service creditable at the time of that career appointment or conversion toward the leave computation date earned sick leave at a different rate previously than enumerated in the accrual chart above. Effective January 4, 2020, the previous accrual categories were eliminated, and all employees began to earn sick leave at the rate applicable for their employee category described in the accrual chart above. All sick leave accruals are prospective as of January 4, 2020, and no retroactive leave accruals were provided.
Sick leave is credited at the end of each biweekly pay period in which it is earned. Sick leave (earned and unused) accumulates without limitation.
Part-time employees are not credited with sick leave that exceeds 13 days (104 hours) per 26–period leave year.
Substitute rural carriers and RCAs assigned to and serving a vacant route or a route from which the rural carrier is on extended leave, and RCAs assigned to and serving an auxiliary route are credited with sick leave starting with the first pay period following the 90–day qualifying period.
Auxiliary rural carriers are not credited with sick leave that exceeds 104 hours per leave year. If they serve in another capacity (e.g., flexible employees) in the Post Office, that service is also used in computing sick-leave credit (see 513.21).
Substitute rural carriers in dual appointments earn sick leave only when their service is performed in a position that is subject to the Civil Service Retirement Act. The leave may be used only while they are serving in a leave–earning position.
See 514.24.
Sick leave will not be granted until it is earned, except as provided in 513.5.
An employee who is in sick-leave status may not engage in any gainful employment unless prior approval has been granted by the appropriate authority (see 662).
Conditions for authorization are as follows:*
Conditions
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Illness or injury.
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If the employee is incapacitated and cannot perform official duties.
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Pregnancy and confinement.
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If absence is required for physical examinations or periods of incapacitation.
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Medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment.
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If absence is necessary during the employee’s regular scheduled tour.
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For eligible employees (as indicated in 513.12), care for a family member (as defined in 515.2(a), 515.2(c), and 515.2(e)).
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A maximum of 80 hours of accrued sick leave per leave year if the illness, injury, or other condition is one that, if an employee had such a condition, would justify using sick leave.
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Contagious disease. A contagious disease is a disease ruled as requiring isolation, quarantine, or restriction of movement of the patient for a particular period by the health authorities having jurisdiction.
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If the employee meets one or more of the following:
- Must care for a family member afflicted with a contagious disease;
- Has been exposed to a contagious disease and would jeopardize the health of others; or
- Has evidence supplied by the local health authorities or a certificate signed by a physician certifying the need for the period of isolation or restriction.
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Medical treatment for disabled veterans.
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If the employee does the following:
- Presents a statement from a duly authorized medical authority that treatment is required; and
- When possible, gives prior notice of the definite number of days and hours of absence. (Such information is required for work scheduling purposes.)
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Bereavement Leave for Nonbargaining Unit Employees
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This type of leave is available for all career nonbargaining unit employees.
Employees may use a maximum of 3 workdays of annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay to make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or to attend the funeral of a family member.
Authorization of leave beyond 3 workdays is subject to the conditions and requirements of 510.
For employees opting to use available sick leave, the leave will be charged to sick leave for dependent care, if available.
For the protection of the Postal Service’s interests, the employee’s supervisor may require documentation evidencing the death of the employee’s family member.
Family member is defined as a:
- Son or daughter — biological or adopted child, stepchild, daughter-in-law, or son-in-law;
- Spouse;
- Parent, mother-in-law, or father-in-law;
- Sibling — brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; or
- Grandparent.
The applicable provisions regarding bereavement leave for bargaining unit employees are in the respective bargaining unit’s applicable national agreement.
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* Sick leave, annual leave, or LWOP is granted as necessary for any of these conditions in accordance with regular leave policies and collective bargaining agreements. (See also 513.6 and 514.22.)
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Except for unexpected illness or injury situations, sick leave must be requested on PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence, and approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor.
An exception to the advance-approval requirement is made for unexpected illness or injuries. However, the employee must notify appropriate Postal Service authorities as soon as possible of his or her illness or injury and expected duration of the absence.
When sufficient information is provided to determine that the absence may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the following U.S. Department of Labor forms will be mailed to the employee’s address of record, along with a return envelope:
- WH 381, FMLA Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities; and
- One of the following forms, as appropriate:
- WH-380-E, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition.
- WH-380-F, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition.
- WH-385, FMLA Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember — for Military Family Leave.
Note: These forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information. However, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate only to the specific reason associated with the request for leave protection.
PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence, will be provided to the employee upon his or her return to duty.
When sufficient information to determine that the absence is covered by FMLA is not provided in advance of the absence, the employee must submit a PS Form 3971 and applicable medical or other certification upon returning to duty and explain the reason for the absence. Employees may be required to submit acceptable evidence of incapacity to work as outlined in the provisions of 513.36, or noted on the reverse of PS Form 3971 or on U.S. Department of Labor Form WH-381, as applicable.
The supervisor approves or disapproves the leave request. When the request is disapproved, the absence may be recorded as annual leave or, if appropriate, as LWOP or AWOL, at the discretion of the supervisor, as outlined in 513.342.
513.34 PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence
Request for sick leave must be made in writing, in duplicate, on PS Form 3971. If the absence is to care for a family member, this fact is to be noted in the “Remarks” section.
The supervisor is responsible for approving or disapproving requests for sick leave by signing PS Form 3971, a copy of which is given to the employee. If a supervisor does not approve a request for leave as submitted, the supervisor must check the “Disapproved” block on the PS Form 3971 and give the reason(s) in writing, in the space provided. When a request is disapproved, granting any alternate type of leave must be noted, along with the reason for the disapproval. AWOL determinations must be similarly noted.
Special requirements for postmaster absences include the following:
- Leave Replacement. A postmaster whose absence requires hiring a leave replacement must notify the appropriate official.
- Absence Over 3 Days. A postmaster who is absent more than 3 consecutive days must submit PS Form 3971 within 2 days of returning to duty, or, for an extended illness, at the end of each accounting period.
For employee absences of three consecutive days or less, supervisors may accept the employee’s statement explaining the absence. Medical documentation or other acceptable evidence of incapacity for work or need to care for a family member is required only when the employee is on restricted sick leave (see 513.39) or when the supervisor deems documentation desirable for the protection of Postal Service interests. Substantiation of the family relationship must be provided if requested.
For employee absences that exceed 3 consecutive days, employees are required to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence of incapacity for work or of need to care for a family member, and, if requested, substantiation of the family relationship.
Employees who are on sick leave for extended periods are required to submit at appropriate intervals, but not more frequently than once every 30 days, satisfactory evidence of continued incapacity for work or need to care for a family member unless a supervisor responsible for the employee knows the employee’s continuing situation.
Employees required to submit medical documentation should obtain it from the employee’s attending physician or other attending practitioner who is performing within the scope of his or her practice. The documentation must provide an explanation of the nature of the employee’s illness or injury sufficient to indicate to management that the employee was (or will be) unable to perform his or her normal duties for the period of absence. Typically, medical statements such as “under my care” or “received treatment” are not acceptable evidence of incapacitation to perform duties.
Supervisors may accept substantiation other than medical documentation if they believe it supports approval of the sick-leave request.
If acceptable substantiation of incapacitation is not furnished, the absence may be charged to annual leave, LWOP, or AWOL.
Employees returning from an FMLA–covered absence which was of their own incapacitation must provide documentation from their health care provider that they are able to perform the position’s functions with or without limitation. Limitations described are accommodated when practical. Bargaining unit employees must also comply with requirements in 865.
When the reason for an employee’s sick leave raises justifiable doubt concerning the employee’s ability to satisfactorily or safely perform duties, a fitness–for–duty medical examination is requested through the appropriate authority. A complete report of the facts, medical and otherwise, must support the request.
Supervisors or installation heads with evidence indicating that an employee is abusing sick-leave privileges may place the employee on the restricted sick-leave list. In addition, employees may be placed on the restricted sick-leave list after their sick-leave use has been reviewed on an individual basis and the following actions have been taken:
- An absence file has been established on the employee.
- The immediate supervisor and higher levels of management have reviewed the absence file.
- Absences during the past quarter of LWOP and sick leave that the employee used have been reviewed. (No minimum sick-leave balance is established below which the employee’s sick-leave record is automatically considered unsatisfactory.)
- The employee’s supervisor has discussed the employee’s absence record with the employee.
- Subsequent quarterly absences have been reviewed. If the absence logs indicate no improvement, the supervisor must discuss the matter with the employee and include in the discussion advice that if there is no improvement during the next quarter, the employee will be placed on restricted sick leave.
Supervisors must provide written notice to employees that their names have been added to the restricted sick-leave listing. The notice also explains that, until further notice, the employees must support all requests for sick leave by medical documentation or other acceptable evidence (see 513.364).
The employee’s supervisor reviews the employee’s PS Form 3972 for each quarter. If the number of absences charged to sickness has substantially decreased, the employee’s name is removed from the restricted sick-leave list and the employee is notified in writing of the removal.
General provisions are as follows:
- Sick leave is not charged for legal holidays or for nonworkdays established by Executive Order.
Exception: If employees shown to be eligible in 434.422 elect to receive annual-leave credit in lieu of holiday-leave pay (see 512.65) and then become ill during their scheduled tour, sick leave may be charged to supplement work hours, up to and including the limit of their regular work schedule, on the holiday worked, provided the requirements of section 513.32 are met.
- Sick leave may be charged on any scheduled workday of an employee’s basic workweek.
Minimum unit charges are as follows:
The following provisions apply to special situations:
- A–E Postmasters. A–E postmasters are charged sick leave the same as annual leave (see 512.524).
- Rural Carriers. Rural carriers who are absent because of illness on Saturdays are charged sick leave based on the computations used for their annual-leave charges (see 512.53).
- Replacement Rural Carriers. Substitute rural carriers and RCAs in a leave-earning status and serving vacant routes and routes from which rural carriers are on extended leave are charged sick leave in the same manner as rural carriers. RCAs in a leave-earning status and serving auxiliary routes are charged sick leave in the same manner as auxiliary rural carriers.
- Triweekly Rural Carriers. Triweekly rural carriers are charged sick leave the same as for annual leave (see 512.54).
General provisions are as follows:
- Absences due to illness are charged as sick leave on any day, except national holidays, that an hourly rate employee is scheduled to work.
Exception: If employees shown to be eligible in 434.422 elect to receive annual-leave credit in lieu of holiday-leave pay (see 512.65), sick leave may be charged to supplement work hours, up to and including the limit of the employee’s regular work schedule, on the holiday worked, provided the requirements of section 513.32 are met.
- Except as provided in 513.82, paid sick leave may not exceed the number of hours that the employee would have been scheduled to work, which includes a maximum of:
- 8 hours in any one day.
- 40 hours in any one week.
- 80 hours in any one pay period. If a dispute arises as to the number of hours a part-time flexible employee would have been scheduled to work, the schedule is considered to have been equal to the average hours worked by other part-time flexible employees in the same work location on the day in question.
- Limitations in 513.421b apply to paid sick leave only and not to a combination of sick leave and workhours. However, part-time flexible employees who have been credited with 40 hours or more of paid service (work, leave, or a combination of work and leave) in a service week are not granted sick leave during the remainder of that service week. Absences, in such cases, are treated as nonduty time that is not chargeable to paid leave of any kind. (Sick leave is not intended to be used to supplement earnings of employees.)
Minimum unit charges are as follows:
Sick leave not to exceed 30 days (240 hours) may be advanced in cases of an employee’s serious disability or illness if there is reason to believe the employee will return to duty. Sick leave may be advanced whether or not the employee has an annual-leave or donated-leave balance.
Every request for advanced sick leave must be supported by medical documentation of the illness.
Officials in charge of installations are authorized to approve these advances without reference to higher authority.
PS Form 1221, Advanced Sick Leave Authorization, must be completed and forwarded to the Eagan ASC when advanced sick leave is authorized.
Additional sick leave may be advanced even though liquidation of a previous advance has not been completed, provided the advance at no time exceeds 30 days. Any advanced sick leave authorized is in addition to the sick leave that has been earned by the employee at the time the advance is authorized.
Liquidating advanced sick leave is not a substitution of annual leave for sick leave to avoid forfeiting the annual leave. Advanced sick leave may be liquidated in the following manner:
- Charging the sick leave against the sick leave the employee earned as it is earned upon return to duty.
- Charging the sick leave against an equivalent amount of annual leave at the employee’s request, provided the annual-leave charge is made prior to the time such leave is forfeited because of the leave carryover limit.
If sick leave is approved, but the employee does not have sufficient sick leave to cover the absence, the difference is charged to annual leave or to LWOP at the employee’s option.
If sick leave is approved for employees who have no annual or sick leave to their credit, the absence may be charged as LWOP unless sick leave is advanced as outlined in 513.5. LWOP so charged cannot later be converted to sick or annual leave.
If sick leave is disapproved, but the absence is nevertheless warranted, the employee’s supervisor may approve, at the employee’s option, a charge to annual leave or a charge to LWOP.
An absence that is disapproved is charged as LWOP and may be administratively considered as AWOL.
If an employee becomes ill while on annual leave and the employee has a sick-leave balance, the absence may be charged to sick leave.
Individuals who are transferring from a federal agency to the Postal Service are credited with their sick-leave balance, provided there is not a break in service exceeding 3 years.
The following provisions apply to recrediting:
- If a Postal Service employee transfers to a position under a different leave system to which only a part of the employee’s sick leave can be transferred, the sick leave is recredited if the individual returns to the Postal Service, provided there is no break.
- If a Postal Service employee transfers to a position to which sick leave cannot be transferred, the sick leave is recredited if the individual returns to the Postal Service.
Sick leave may be recredited upon reemployment.
Note: For sick leave to be recredited, the employee must be reemployed in a position where sick leave may be earned and used.
Previously unused sick leave of individuals originally separated and subsequently reemployed from a continuous period on OWCP rolls will be recredited to their account, regardless of the length of time these employees were on OWCP and off Postal Service rolls.
Exception: Sick leave may not be recredited if an employee applied and was approved for disability retirement regardless of whether the employee actually collected the annuity.
No payment is made for accumulated sick leave when an employee retires or separates from Postal Service employment.
Provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act provide that credit for unused sick leave may be granted in calculating retirement or survivor annuity at the time of an employee’s retirement or death (see 562.4). Each 8 hours of sick leave represents 1 day of retirement credit. Unused sick-leave days are converted to calendar time retirement credit, based on a 260-day work year (260 days x 8 hours = 2,080 hours).
Previously, no provisions existed for sick-leave credit upon retirement for employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), except for those who were in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and transferred to FERS. See 580 for details about sick-leave credit upon retirement for FERS employees formerly covered by CSRS.
Enacted in 2009, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111-84) changed this. FERS employees will receive credit for unused sick leave in the same manner as CSRS employees. The change will be phased in, as follows:
- Fifty percent of accrued sick leave hours will be credited for all FERS retirements that commenced October 28, 2009, through December 31, 2013, and
- One-hundred percent of accrued sick leave hours will be credited for all FERS retirements that began on or after January 1, 2014.
If the OPM has approved an application for disability retirement effective on expiration of accumulated and accrued leave, or if the employee is being otherwise separated for physical or mental disability resulting in inability to perform the work, sick leave is granted at the rate of 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, or 80 hours per pay period until the employee’s sick leave is exhausted. Payments may not be made, however, for any hours for which the employee received salary or leave payments from another federal agency.
If an ill employee dies without returning to duty and without applying for sick leave, the Postal Service official who is in charge of the installation grants sick leave for the period of illness or disability immediately before death. If the employee was in pay status on the day of death or immediately before death, the employee’s beneficiary is entitled to receive compensation without charge to leave for the date of death. The latter applies whether or not employees have leave to their credit.
Collection for used but unearned sick leave at the time of separation is made in the same manner as for unearned annual leave (see 512.72).
